New to Android? Welcome to Google’s cool OS club. That’s “operating system” for the tech newbies. Unboxing your new Huawei or Samsung mobile phone is one of the most exciting moments of the whole process — but if you’re new to setting it up, you’ll want to follow Mobile Store’s easy tips, as well as take note of our tricks for a better mobile experience.
How to: Setting up your new Samsung Android phone.
Android is a mobile operating system developed and owned by Google, for Samsung and Huawei phones and tablets. Google has released 11 versions of Android and, over the years, it has faced both support from Android lovers and criticism from die-hard Apple iOS fans.
If you’re setting up a new Android phone for the first time, the process has a couple more steps than when you’re transferring your data from your old Android phone to your new one.
In this case, simply open Smart Switch on your old phone, and follow the prompts to transfer your data. If not, follow these simple steps:
Step 1: Select the language you would like your phone to be programmed in.
Step 2: Agree to the T’s C’s to continue setting up.
Step 3: Your phone should automatically connect to Wi-Fi if you have it in your home.
If you don’t have Wi-Fi, your mobile data is going to be used to set up your phone, which will be costly — so try set up in a Wi-Fi zone, if you can.
Step 4: Enter in your Google account email address and password.
Step 5: After you’ve signed into your account, you’ll choose which apps and data you’d like to transfer from your old phone. Sometimes this takes up to 30 minutes if you have a lot of data, but you can start to use your new Android while it downloads.
Step 6: Set up your fingerprint ID.
Now you’re all set up! You’ll be presented with your phone’s home screen which should have pre-installed apps, as well as apps and data from your old phone.
Five top tips for a better, faster, safer Android experience.
Download additional antivirus software
As much as we love Android phones, the king of OS security has long been Apple iOS. However, Android has made greater strides in recent years to beef up their security — so we’ll give credit where credit is due.
Nonetheless, for anyone uber anxious, downloading additional antivirus protection for your Android would give your phone and your online activities that added layer of safety and privacy.
Antivirus software is relatively affordable and usually you will only have to pay one fee for an entire year. Good recommendations include Norton Mobile Security and Bitdefender.
Delete apps you don’t want or use
Each Samsung or Huawei phone comes with a ton of pre-installed apps as part of the OS offering — but this doesn’t mean you have to keep all of them or even use them.
After all, it is your phone and you should be able to tailor it how you see fit.
Deleting apps you don’t use will also free-up space on your phone, so you can download apps from the Google Play Store that you really want.
Use the Quick settings menu
This handy little tool is accessible by simply swiping down from the top of your screen with two fingers.
Think of it like a virtual picnic basket of all your favourite apps and tools which are all made easily reachable.
You can switch on or off your Wi-Fi, play music, check your battery life, adjust your screen brightness, turn Flight Mode on, switch on your torch, or activate your alarm clock.
The Quick settings menu is also editable — meaning you can change which apps and tools to access.
Select which Notifications you actually want to see
If there’s an app for it, there’s a notification for it.
And, let’s be honest, notifications can be distracting and overwhelming.
Go into your Settings and manually turn off notifications for apps you don’t, or rarely, use. You can also mute or limit notifications from apps that are typically noisy like Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook.
Turning off a lot of your notifications will also save you on data and battery life, as every little action performed by your phone requires one or both.
Furthermore, if you’d like to take a break from all notifications altogether, activate the “Do Not Disturb” feature in your sound settings — and enjoy the peace and quiet.
Use your Google Assistant when you’re on the phone
This is a pretty neat tool, and is bound to make you feel like you have your own executive assistant. If you’re on the phone and you’ve been put on hold, activate your Google Assistant to let you know when someone on the other end answers the call.
To activate this, simply tap the three little dots in the top right corner on your screen and select “Hold for me”.
This way, you can put your phone down and continue working or watching that Netflix documentary.
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